If Sixers miss on LeBron James, it'll be no fault of their own

If Sixers miss on LeBron James, it'll be no fault of their own

Think about the appeal of joining the Philadelphia 76ers for NBA superstar LeBron James.

A team with a young core, coming off a 52-win season, with arguably two of the best young players in the NBA in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Let’s also not forget the fact that it’s in the Eastern Conference, which is unquestionably less brutal than the loaded West.

So, the question is, why wouldn’t LeBron want to go to the Sixers? On the surface, it’s hard to argue there’s anything about the actual team or franchise itself at this very moment (with the Bryan Colangelo drama behind us) that would turn him off.

But the issue which may wind up costing the Sixers in their free-agent pursuit of James is something completely out of the hands of one of the most on-the-rise teams in the NBA.

It’s his family, and he can’t be faulted for that.

There have been rumblings all along that LeBron wants his next team to be extremely close to his family. This is one of the main reasons why the Los Angeles Lakers are a favorite to lure him to town, as his son apparently is set to attend Sierra Canyon High in Chatsworth — located in Northern Los Angeles County.

“At various points this season, whispers emanating from Philadelphia suggested that the Sixers themselves believed they had the strongest chance of any external suitor to lure LeBron away from Cleveland. If that’s changed, though, I don’t think it’s because of fit concerns: It’s changed because of the growing belief, based on external tea-leaves reading as much as anything, that LeBron is only going to consider teams that play in cities where his family wants to live, like L.A., where he and his wife, Savannah, already have multiple homes.” Stein stated.

The comments essentially hit the nail on the head here. There’s obviously still a real chance the Sixers can land James, but it may be more about his family agreeing to be there with him, which could prove impossible based on his son’s basketball future.

Regardless, Sixers coach Brett Brown, Embiid, and more than likely every other member of the organization will be in full recruitment mode in an attempt to lure LeBron to town. The appeal will be there and the opportunity to win a championship in Philly is legitimate.

On the surface, and even when diving deeper into it, the thought of heading to the City of Brotherly Love has to be enticing for James.

But anything and everything the Sixers can throw at The King may potentially still not be enough. And that’s nothing worth blaming on The Process because we know it’s already working.